SMEs 'should not fear' VoIP solutions

Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should not be afraid of deploying VoIP solutions, an IT expert has said.

Dr Adam Le Gresley, head of operations at Technology Means Business (TMB), believes that this fear is not because of concerns over the cost-effectiveness of VoIP solutions, but that "they won't understand it".

"There's a fear of it or lack of knowledge about it and that's the problem," he said.

He believes that with a standard landline system, many SMEs will be able to install the system themselves - "you have a look at the instructions... screw it onto the wall, plug it in, plug all the other phones in and start".

However, when referring to a VoIP deployment, he said: "When you're talking about setting up an online registry of phones and so forth with specific MAC [Media Access Control] addresses, a lot of people... become quite scared of that and, when it breaks down, it's not something obvious."

But Dr Le Gresley stressed this should not be a problem, as "there is very good customer support from voice-over-internet providers".